CHENNAI: Taking part in her first international bout of the season, decorated boxer Nikhat Zareen barely broke a sweat as she put up a dominant victory over Xian Baguhin of Philippines in the ongoing Asian Championships at the the ASA Arena in Sukhbaatar District, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).
The two-time World Championships gold winner, who had received a bye in the first round, was aggressive from the get go and wrapped up the contest in quick time as the referee was forced to stop the contest (win by RSC) towards the closing stages of the Round 1 on Friday.
With this victory, the 51kg pugilist booked a spot in the semis, thereby assuring herself at least a bronze medal. This is her second medal in the continental meet — she had captured bronze in the 2019 edition.
This is an ideal start but Nikhat, the No 1 seed, will now face a massive challenge as she'll be up against Wu Yu of China, who had beaten the Indian (Round of 16) during her gold medal run during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Wu, who's unseeded in the meet, edged Uzbekistan's Gulsevar Ganieva by split verdict (4-1) to set up a re-match with the Indian.
It goes without saying it's a high-stake battle for Nikhat, who can secure a place in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games squad if she can win her next fight.
Meanwhile, Priya (60 kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) also produced contrasting wins to assure themselves at least a bronze medal.
In the men's section, Deepak (70kg) suffered a setback as he lost 1-4 against Jordan’s Zeyad Eashash in the quarterfinals.